Bill Maher attacked deceased Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the subject of Clint Eastwood's new "American Sniper" film, on his HBO show last week, calling him a "psychopath patriot."

"'Hurt Locker' made $17 million, because it was a little ambiguous, and thoughtful. And this one is just 'American hero: he’s a psychopath patriot and we love him,'" Maher told his guest panel on Friday, Slate reported.

"I read some of the quotes from the real Chris Kyle. He said, 'I hate the damn savages' — talking about the Iraqis — 'and I've been fighting and I always will. I love killing bad guys. Even with the pain I loved what I was doing.'"

Maher said that it was wrong for Kyle to call the Iraqis "savages."

Former Vermont Governor and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean chimed in, agreeing with Maher.

He added, "There's a lot of anger in this country, and the people who go see this movie are very angry . . . I bet you if you looked at a cross section of the Tea Party and people who go to see this movie there's a lot of intersection."

Bret Stephens of The Wall Street Journal pushed back against Maher and Dean.

"What I saw was a movie that treats what veterans and soldiers go through in a way that was subtle. It was not just about war, it was about PTSD, it was about what the wives of soldiers go through. And, by the way, the 'savages' he's talking about aren't ordinary Iraqis. The savages are Al Qaeda killers who put drills into children."

Comedian Bill Blurr also thought Maher’s arguments were sloppy, telling him "You can’t sum up a man by one quote taken out of context."

According to CNN Money, "American Sniper" is on its way to beat 2004's "The Passion of the Christ" as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.